Thursday, 3 November 2011

Unveiled by the Queen in 1999, the slightly larger than life-sized statue depicts Eric Morecambe in one of his characteristic poses with a pair of binoculars around his neck (he was a keen ornithologist). The statue is set against the stunning backdrop of Morecambe Bay and the Lake District hills, and people queue to have their photo taken alongside it. The statue and the arena below it are equally sensational at night, with superb lighting effects bathing the area. [Source]Photograph Details: Nikon D7000Focal length 18mmISO-100exp: 1/6f22

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

On a trip back "Oop Norf" to see my family (and baby niece for the first time) I stopped off on the way back to my parents' house from my brother's to snap this shot. With no tripod, memory cards or camera charger the photography on the trip was rather underwhelming which was such a massive shame.

The windmill sits on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, the longest canal in Northern England at 127 miles long, and it took 46 years to build (almost twice as long as I've been alive for) and at a cost of 5x the original budget! The idea for it was first proposed in 1765. The Canal Act passed in 1770 was for a route from Liverpool to Leeds via Parbold, Walton-le-Dale (just south of Preston), Colne and Skipton, with a branch from Burscough towards the River Ribble, a branch from Parbold to Wigan, a great aqueduct at Whalley and a branch from Shipley to Bradford. [Source]

I took this one with the camera propped on the door window sill of the car

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

This imposing house, at the gateway to the Lake District, stands proud in a rich and beautiful garden, which includes a pond, lake, National Collection of Hardy Ferns and a superb limestone rock garden. Still lived in by the Strickland family, Sizergh has many tales to tell and certainly feels lived in, with centuries-old portraits and fine furniture sitting alongside modern family photographs. The exceptional wood panelling culminates in the Inlaid Chamber, returned here in 1999 from the Victoria & Albert Museum. The 647-hectare (1,600-acre) estate includes limestone pasture, orchards and ancient, semi-natural woodland. [Source]

The house itself is actually quite impressive, as are the gardens... However, the stewards in each room are very annoying! A mobile phone went off briefly in one room and the woman seemed to get rather upset about it, so much so as to go in to the next room and moan at the people in there too! It was also VERY dark in some of the rooms, for many reasons, none of which I'm going to tell you about. They did say however that they were waiting for a lamp to be brought up, presumibly so they can turn another one off as the woman (Mrs Mobile) said that they weren't allowed the light levels to be any higher than they already were - for many reasons, none of which I'm going to tell you about either. Worth a visit? Yes, but you can't go until next year anyway now (yesterday was the last day the house was open for 2011), and bear in mind the fact that the stewards are just plain irritating...